Kisses from A
by Kate does fanfic
Summary: A gets involved in Aria's love life. BUT EZRIA SHALL PREVAIL!
1. Chapter 1

The overwhelming sound of rain hitting the apartment complex is all Aria can hear as she lies alone in the well-worn grey bedding. She shivers and pulls Ezra's comforter closer around her, trying to hold in her body heat. Slowly, her eyes begin to close and she feels herself drifting off to sleep. Images of Ella and Byron and Mike fill her head. She sees her friends and she sees herself with Ezra. She also sees a chocolate fondue fountain and a field of flying puppies who fly towards her, trying to lick her face.

A sudden buzz jolts her awake and she sits up, her head spinning from the speed. She looks over at her phone which is illuminating the once pitch black apartment. Taking a deep breath of anticipation, she grabs her phone and opens the message.

_A teacher should know better than to shower during a thunder storm. Kisses, -A_

"What?" Aria asks the empty room. The room is lit up by a flash of lightening and almost immediately a loud crack of thunder permeates the room. She hears Ezra shout from the bathroom and clumsily jumps out of the bed, rushing to the bathroom. "Ezra," she calls, knocking loudly on the door and then shoving herself in with all of the force she could muster.

"Sorry," he laughs, pulling the curtain back and blushing as he grins. "I almost slipped on a bar of soap." As he notices her face, his smile slackens. "What, did I wake you up?"

Aria shakes her head and grabs his arm, tugging a dripping Ezra from the shower. "You can't shower while there's lightening going on out there, are you kidding me?" Disregarding his wetness, Aria wraps her arms around him and inhales.

"I'm...sorry?" Ezra says, hugging her tightly. "I didn't really notice the storm."

"You could die!" Aria shouts, stepping back.

"Aria, are you okay? What brought this on?" Ezra wraps a towel around his waist and reaches into the shower to turn the water off.

"A texted me," she says quietly. "She killed Wilden last week; she's _obviously _not afraid of hurting people."

"And you thought she was going to electrocute me in the shower?" Ezra raises and eyebrow.

"Hey, my concern is legitimate. She's _killed _people, Ezra, and she's gotten away with it." Aria widens her eyes and bites her thumbnail.

Ezra nods, his smile fading further. "I know, I'm sorry." He steps forward and reaches his arms around Aria's waist and resting his forehead on hers. "But I'm all right. It's okay."

Aria closes her eyes and breathes in, his scent calming her screaming nerves. She wraps her hands around his neck and pulls his mouth to hers. She kisses him and he kisses back, strong and hard. His lips lead hers open and closed; his tongue slowly dipping in and out of her mouth. Their kiss's rhythm reverberates inside their bodies and they pull each other closer. Ezra lifts Aria onto the sink counter just as a crash echoes from the other side of the apartment.

Aria's grip loosens and her hands find their way into Ezra's. "What was that?"

"I'm not sure." Ezra wanders into the hall and flips a light on.

The window by his desk is wide open, rain falling on the floor. Some of the desk doors are carelessly open as well, but nothing else appears to have been tampered with. "Ezra," Aria says, "you don't think this was A, do you?"

Ezra walks to the window and pushes it closed. After locking it he turns around to look at Aria. "A did text you right before you left the room, right? She made you come check on me."

Aria walks over to the desk and scans for an obvious clue. "There are papers all over the floor—how are we supposed to know what she took?" Aria asks. She reaches for the nearest paper but it's soaked and tears in her hand. "Did you have anything important hidden in here?" Ezra's silence causes Aria to look up from the mess of papers. He's retreated to the bed and is holding a small rectangle of paper. "What's that?" she asks.

He holds it out to her, wordlessly. Aria takes it. A photo of Malcolm and Ezra and been scratched at with a pin, leaving Ezra's face white. On the bottom _ask mommy who my real dad is_ is written in red ink. Aria flips the paper over. _Kisses, -A_

"Oh my God." Ezra scratches the back of his head and looks down at his lap.

"I'm sure it's a lie. Of course Malcolm is yours, I—" Aria starts.

"I know he's my son!" Ezra says, his voice tense. "I know he is, of course he is. A has gone too far, Aria. A can't touch my son." His voice cracks and he looks back up at her, his eyes red.

Aria nods and walks over to him, joining him on the bed. "I know." He takes her hand and wraps an arm around her. "We'll figure it out."

Ezra takes her face in his hand and kisses her lips. "Let me...get some pants," he says, finally. "Then we can go to sleep."

"Okay," she says, holding his hand until their arms can no longer reach. Ezra walks back into the bathroom for his clothes and just as he leaves the room, Aria's phone buzzes.

_Want to know who the real dad is? Kisses, -A_


	2. Chapter 2

_Want to know who the real dad is? Kisses, -A_

"What?" Hanna says harshly, grabbing the phone from Aria's hand.

"I know!" Aria says as she massages her aching temple. Her head was pounding from a combination of no sleep, worry, and caffeine overload. After receiving the A message, she hadn't even considered saying anything to Ezra. A had tried to sabotage her relationship before, and she was not opening that door again. But there was a little nagging thought in her brain that kept whispering _are you _sure _Malcolm's his son? _and it had left her sleepless.

"Is this, like, for real?" Hanna asks, poking at the screen as if it might disclose more if she pestered it enough.

"No," Aria says with a hint of doubt in her voice. "I mean, it can't be, right? This is just A being a bitch again." She bites her lip and exits out of the message.

Hanna shrugs and pulls a bottle of water out of her tan purse. "I think you should just delete the message and pretend it never happened. That's my new policy on A."

Aria raises an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since now. If A is tries to mess with Haleb I'll punch her in the throat and that'll be that."

"You call you and Caleb...Haleb? You couple named-yourself?" Aria giggles and Hanna only tilts her head as if to say _duh_. "And I'm all for some anti-A violence, but we'd have to know who she is first."

"She's Mona," Hanna says. "Hey, coffee break?" she adds as that round a corner and approach the coffee shop where Emily works.

"Oh yes, absolutely." Aria nods enthusiastically and they walk in. "But we were with Mona when Redcoat rescued us from the fire, _and _when Wilden's car was returned, remember?"

"Can I have a Skinny Vanilla, please?" Hanna asks Zach. He nods and turns to prepare it and Hanna turns back to Aria. "I don't know, I just have this feeling that Mona is still the one behind it. We were right not to trust her before, you know," she snaps.

Aria looks at Hanna, affronted. "Okay, I get that you're still hurt, but I don't think that she's the mastermind behind it. Soy coffee, please," she adds when Zach looks at her questioningly.

"Hey, guys!" Emily says, smiling as she walks in the shop.

"Hey Em," Aria says. She pulls her phone out and shows her the text. "Guess who's trying to fuck up my relationship again?"

"Jeez, is this about Malcolm?" Emily says, her eyes widening. Aria nods. "Did you tell him?"

"No," Aria says, quickly, "no way. A broke into his apartment last night and wrote on a picture of them together that he wasn't the dad. I'm not telling him A's trying to make me believe it, too. He's too freaked out as it is."

"So you don't think it's true?"

"No, I think A's trying to get some sort of leverage where she has none." Aria pays for her coffee and sits down in the corner booth.

The bell on the front door jingles and the girls look up. "Hey, Aria," Ezra says. "Hanna, Emily. The meeting ended early," he explains.

"Hey," Aria's eyes widen and she quickly grabs the phone from Emily, erasing the message.

"Would you walk with me for a bit, I want to talk about something with you."

"Sure." Aria is uncomfortably aware of how shrill her voice is getting. "That sounds fine. I'll see you guys late, okay?"

Emily and Hanna nod awkwardly.

"Were they acting weird?" Ezra asks as they exit the shop.

"Nope." Aria sips her coffee. "So what did you want to tell me?"

"Well," Ezra says, taking her hand in his, "I just wanted to apologize for freaking out yesterday. I misplaced my anger and channeled it towards you and I'm sorry for that."

"No, it's fine. All is forgiven," she says, squeezing his warm hand.

"No, it isn't. I just can't let A hurt my family and I felt a little crazy."

Aria flinches when he says _family_. Isn't that all that A does? Aria's the reason that A's targeting Ezra to begin with and she feels a new wave of guilt rush over her. She drops his hand.

"Ezra, I—"

"We're not breaking up again, Aria. I can protect my son without losing you, you know." He stops walking and turns to face her. Taken aback by his confidence in their relationship, Aria can only blink. "I love you. I'm not letting some faceless person take away things that I love—neither you nor Malcolm are going anywhere."

The sudden urge to cry causes a lump to form in Aria's throat. She breathes deeply and walks forward into Ezra's warm embrace. "You should get better locks, though," Aria says, her voice muffled by Ezra's chest.

Ezra laughs. "Yeah, I was just thinking that. And I need to tell Maggie about the note. She needs to know that A is threatening us."

Aria pulls back and nods. "You're right, but I'm pretty sure she's not gonna like it."

"I _know _she's not gonna like it. She'll probably be pissed, but she deserves to know. And she'll need to keep an eye out for Malcolm."

"Yeah." Aria sighs. "So movie and food tonight?" She says, eager for a new subject.

"Absolutely." Ezra grins. "Vegan and a Hitchcock?"

"Is there any other valid choice"? Aria laughs. "I'll pick it up and be at your place around seven, okay?"

"Sounds great," Ezra says, leaning down to kiss her forehead. "I'll see you then, better go talk to Maggie."

"Love you," Aria says, reaching her hands into his hair and stepping closer, absorbing his body heat.

Ezra places his hands on the small of her back and kisses her. "I love you, too," he replies when he pulls away. He kisses her forehead again, quickly and turns to walk down the street.

Aria sighs and watches his retreating butt, trying to shake the feeling that she'd lied somehow. Her phone buzzes again. "You've gotta be kidding," she says under her breath.

_Yes or No, Aria? Trust me, the truth is too good to pass up. Kisses, -A_


End file.
